China sent a record 18 nuclear-capable bombers into Taiwan's air defence zone, Taipei said yesterday, just days after Beijing banned more Taiwanese imports in the latest sign of deteriorating ties.

Democratic Taiwan lives under the constant threat of invasion by China, which sees the self-ruled island as part of its territory to be seized one day. Beijing has ramped up military, diplomatic and economic pressure since the 2016 election of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, who rejects its stance that the island is part of China.

In a daily update yesterday morning Taiwan's defence ministry said 21 aircraft entered the island's southwest air defence identification zone (ADIZ) over the last 24 hours, including 18 nuclear-capable H-6 bombers.

That represents by far the largest daily sortie by H-6 bombers since Taipei first began releasing daily incursion data in September 2020.

The wave came after China slapped fresh import bans on Taiwanese products last week, prompting Premier Su Tseng-chang to accuse Beijing of violating international trade rules and "discriminating" against the island.